Leather-shoe-string cutter



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.'

J. A. SrtEFoEn-,o'r BoSroN, MASSACHUSETTS.-

LEATHER-SHOE-STRING CUTTER.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47.340, dated April i8, 1865.

" plan ot' the bottom.

Like parts are indicated by the same letters in both figures.

The nature of my invention consists, first, in the employment of a circular punch or cutter, C, provided with a tangential opening or throatand a vertical cutting-edge, h, whereby the leather may be cut into a circular disk and drawn immediately out into shoe-strings or a long continuous strip wlth great precision and dispatch; Second, in the` employment, within the circular punch ot' a spring, J, whereby the leather, while being drawn out into strings, is kept in proper position on the table and prevented from .turning up edgewise 5 third, in rendering the aforesaid throat adj ust-able, so as to cut out stings ot' various widths; and,fourth, in continuing the circular cutter outward from the throat, so as to forni a wing, i, in order to cut through the circular hole I nade in the leather by said cutter, and thereby leave a free end for the operator to grasp as he begins to draw out the string. l p

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The cutter-head B and handle A are made of cast-iron or other suitable metal or material. The head B is circular, with a 4iiat bottom or end about two inches (more or less) in diameter.

C is a steel punch or cutterblade, which is bent into a nearly circular form, as represented in- Fig. 2, i being a tangential continuation of the same, and forming the adjust-able throat or opening through which the string is drawn. rlhis circular cutter O is attached to the cutter-head B by means of screws d e f g, the cutter-head having a rabbe (shown by dotted lilies in Fig. 1) to receive it. 'lhe bottom of the punch G and wing fi, as well as the end h of the punch, are ground to a cutting-edge.

J is a iat spring (the shape and position of `which are clearly shown in the drawings) attached to the bottom of the cutter-head B by means ot' the screw k and steady-pin l. The` design of this spring is to press upon the leather and prevent it from turningup edge- Wise while revolving under the punch upon` the block or table T, (see dotted lines in Fig. 1,) on which the punching and cutting operation is performed. The throat or opening through which the stringis drawn may be diminished or enlarged, at pleasure, by turning in or out the screw d.

The punch C is represented inthe drawings as made of a continuous Strip of metal. 1t may, however, be made in two or more sections, it' desirable, so that the cutting end h maybe removed and readily sharpened without re moving the other part or parts.

'lhe leather to be cut into strings is laid upon the table T, of wood or other suitable material, and the punch, beingplaced upon it in the re.-

quired position, is driven through the leather by the blow of a mallet orby pressure on the top ofthe handle A. This cuts thev leather into a circular disk, with a tangential end proi jeetin g through the throat or opening between the cutting end h andthe Wing i. The punch being still held in this position on the table, the operator seizes the stripprojecting through thethroat and draws it ont iu the direction represented by the dotted line S in Fig. 2, the sharpened end h of the punch `cutting from the periphery of' the revolving disk a l strip or string, the width ot' which is determined by the gage of the throat.

My machine is very simple, cheap, and easily kept in working order, and by i't leather` may be cut into strips or shoe strings with great rapidity and precision.

Having thus described the construction and i operation of my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to Secure by Letters Patent, is i l. The circular cutter O, with a tangential opening and a cutting end, h, substantially asA set forth, and for the purpose described.

2. The employment of the spring J, or its tiallyes set forLl1`,and forthe purpose speciequh ident, Within the circular cutter G, subfied. smnt'zdly as and for the purpose described.

3. Rendering the tangential opening or J' A' SAFFORD throab'adjustable, substantially as and for Witnesses: the purpose described. N. AMES,

4. Thetnngential Wing or cutter z', substan- SAMUEL D. TILTON. 

